A Brand New Girl
by Hrtofdrkns2
Summary: Kagome has a nightmare that forces her to confront her feelings for Inuyasha. Fourth chapter finally up!
1. The Other Side Of The Story

I know I'll get flamed by the rosary lovers for this one. "But Kagome needs the beads! Her spiritual powers that could turn Inuyasha to a pile of ash aren't enough! Besides, she doesn't use them that much later on." So, it's okay to enslave people if you're not cruel all of the time, only some of the time?

A Brand-New Girl by Hrtofdrkns

Chapter One: The Other Side of the Story

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha.

"Kagome SIT!"

The hanyou girl crashed to the ground. Panic overwhelmed her, as it always did. She was being smothered by the earth that filled her mouth.

After the spell wore off Kagome lifted herself out of the crater. Shippou was laughing and pointing at her.

"HAHAHA! Serves you right!"

All Kagome had done was ask for some ramen. She liked the taste, that's all. For some reason this had made Inuyasha furious.

"Just for that, you ungrateful bitch, no food for you." Inuyasha then started to serve food from his backpack to the kitsune, who gobbled it up greedily.

Kagome looked to Sango and Miroku. They just shook their heads, muttering about what an idiot she was, as if she wasn't even there.

This was all Inuyasha's fault. If he had just given her the jewel she could have become a full demon. Finally she would have known happiness. Instead he had shattered it and the old hag had cursed her with the beads. Now Inuyasha could hurt her with a word whenever he felt like it.

But what could Kagome do but try to endure? She was a hanyou, and this is how hanyou's were to be treated. It was the way of the world.

After lunch was over their journey to recover the jewel shards continued. Suddenly Kikyou appeared and attacked Kagome. The wolf youkai was empowered by two shards in her legs and it was all Kagome could do to match their strength. Just as she was on the verge of victory, it happened again.

"SIT!"

Kagome was slammed into the ground so hard she made a crater. Once again she couldn't breath. The only sound was the fox's laughter.

As she pulled herself out, she was greeted by the sight of Kikyou holding hands with Inuyasha.

"It kills me to leave you under the care of this worthless half-breed, but I have no choice."

Kagome snorted. Didn't Inuyasha realize what Kikyou was? She had ordered her wolves to slaughter an entier village for no reason at all and tried to kill Kagome unprovoked several times. Yet Inuyasha wouldn't hear anything negative about the wolf princess.

Kikyou vanished in a tornado as Kagome crawled out of the pit, only to be slammed down again.

"I've told you to leave Kikyou alone."

"But she attacked me..."

"SITSITSITSITSITSITSIT!"

**Scene Change**

After Kagome could move again, the journey continued. Shippou would occasionally jump onto her head and pull her ears or scream into them. If she dared try to stop him, a sit.

Around sundown another youkai attacked. Kagome was wounded, but managed to kill it. She didn't get so much as a thank you in return from her so-called friends. They reached a village soon after, and her ears picked up the calls of "halfbreed!" "filth" and "monster". But Inuyasha said nothing. He just acted real polite to the innkeeper and asked about a room. Sure he said, but that thing can't stay.

And so Kagome once again slept alone. Actually it was kind of nice. No fox, no Kikyou, no sits.

The next day it was off on the jewel hunt again. Inuyasha had a grin on his face that made Kagome nervous. When they were walking over a bridge he turned to her. Oh please no.

"Kagome SIT!"

She crashed through the wood and into the water. This was the worst of all. She was drowning.

After she got out Inuyasha told her to lighten up. It was only a joke.

**Scene Change**

Later they went through the well to Inuyasha's home. There Kagome was greeted by Inuyasha's mother and younger brother. They were nice to her, at least.

"But what about the jewel? If Naraku completes it could be the end of the world."

"SIT!" SLAM! "Who cares about that? I have a test I need to study for! No go wait outside untill I'm ready to go back."

Kagome stood outside, watching the happy family eat dinner through the window. Once, she had felt love for the human boy Inuyasha. But now, as she watched him enjoy his perfect dinner, with his perfect family, and live his perfect life, all she could feel was burning disgust and hatred.

**Scene Change**

Kagome's eyes shot open. She lay in her sleeping bag, Inuyasha's worried face looking down on her.

"Kagome, how do you feel?" He asked as she sat up. "You've had a high fever. We've been worried."

Kagome looked at Inuyasha for a few moments before throwing her arms around him.

"I'm sorry! I'm so so sorry!" she cried over and over. The shocked hanyou could only hug her back. He was inexperianced at comforting someone, but he tried his best. He rubbed her back and rocked back and forth untill Kagome called down.

"I...I had a dream. A nightmare." She sniffed. "I saw things through your eyes. Inuyasha, I want you to tell me the truth. Have I ever been unfair or cruel to you?"

The hanyou thought for a moment, then realized there was no reason to sugar-coat his response. If she really wanted the truth, he would tell her.

"Sometimes."

Kagome nodded. "Things are going to be different from now on. For starters, we don't need this." She reached up to his neck and broke the rosary. Inuyasha's mouth hung open as she threw it out the window. "I should have done that a long time ago."

"You..." Stammered Inuyasha, to stunned by this sudden turn of events to speak.

"That's right. I trust you completely. I know you would never hurt me. But I was using that thing to hurt you whenever I was feeling mean. I just never really saw it that way before now."

"It wasn't really that bad. It didn't hurt that much." Inuyasha said.

"That's not the point. Nobody deserves how I was treating you. Especially not someone as wonderful as you Inuyasha. I'm sorry."

It took Inuyasha a little while to recover from so many shocks one after another. No more sits? Trust? Wonderful!

"You should rest." He told her, gently pushing her down into her sleeping bag while trying to sort through his emotions. "And I...I forgive you."

Kagome smiled and fell back to sleep, promising herself that she would make things right.

To be continued.

Yes yes, I am well aware that Kagome was never that cruel to Inuyasha. But a nightmare tends to twist things, put the worst possible slant to events.

The next chapter will be Kagome trying to right all of the wrongs she has done Inuyasha, with him being completely bewildered.


	2. A Brat Gets His Just Desserts

Sorry I haven't updated in so long. I have no excuse other then being lazy.

This was originally going to be an "Inuyasha gets the beads on Kagome and sits her into next year" story, and while they are enjoyable, I decided not to make this story one. Inuyasha is better then that.

On another note, I think it's very possible that a dream could change how someone sees the world. After all, some of the world's major religions were founded on dreams and visions.

Lastly, I personally don't think Inuyasha would want to keep the beads, even as a memento. That's like wanting to keep your ankle bracelet from your probation (or is it parole where they sometimes make you wear those?).

Warning! This chapter contains the spanking of a minor!

A Brat Gets His Just Desserts

The next morning Kagome woke up feeling better. Deciding it must have been a 24 hour flu, she woke up Inuyasha and together they went to start breakfast.

"I'm really sorry about everything. I don't know how I can make it up to you." She told him again.

Inuyasha shook his head no. "I told you, it's okay. I'm just happy you finally realized what you were doing. You don't have to make anything up to me...though I wouldn't mind some ramen."

Kagome smiled. "I think I can manage that. Beef or chicken flavor?"

Inuyasha thought for a moment. "Can it be both?"

"Sure." Kagome paused and regarded him seriously. "This doesn't mean you can just go wild though. I'm trusting you to be able to control yourself, even with Kouga and Shippou. Okay?"

"What if the mangy wolf attacks me first? And that brat..."

"Then you can fight back. And if Shippou teases you I'll handle it. I promise."

Inuyasha sighed and nodded. He knew it would be hard to ignore Shippou's taunts and Kouga's continued existence, but it would be worth it if he never had to slam face-first into the ground again.

**Scene Change**

"Well it's about time!" Sango exclaimed as she set the remains of her breakfast down. Kirara meowed her approval as well.

They sat around a fire; Inuyasha, Kagome, Sango, and Miroku. Inuyasha was surrounded by a small forest of ramen cups, another heating over the fire.

"I agree." Miroku said, disappointed that Sango's rear was currently out of reach. His lonely cursed hand settled for feeling two rocks he had found that, if placed together, sort of felt like the real thing if you closed your eyes and imagined really hard.

Unaware of Miroku's naughty rock touching, Sango continued.

"I always thought it was a bit mean of you to have those things on him. It made me think you didn't trust him. I was really beginning to doubt you cared about him at all."

"Does Lady Kaede know?" Miroku interrupted, his hand continuing it's rock-fondling.

Kagome shook her head. "I haven't told her yet. I know it's stupid, but I'm afraid it'll hurt her feelings. She did put them on him in the first place, after all." She looked around her. "Have you seen Shippou?"

"He already ate and went off to play." Sango replied, keeping a careful eye on Miroku's hand.

After the ramen was done Kagome carefully handed it to Inuyasha. "Even though it was horrible, I'm glad I had that dream. It really woke me up, made me face what I was doing."

Inuyasha tried to tell Kagome, for the hundredth time, that it was okay. Unfortunately, his mouth full of beef flavored ramen prevented him from doing that. He swallowed it and quickly downed the rest of the cup.

"Can I have some more?"

"More!" Kagome exclaimed. "You've already had six cups!"

"Please?"

Kagome sighed. "Alright, ONE more cup and that's it. You're going to be sick." She told him while digging around in her backpack.

**Scene Change**

Kagome ended up giving Inuyasha three more cups until he was at last full. Sango went with Miroku to get some herbs from Kaede. As they got ready to resume their journey Kagome called out to the absent fox.

"Hey Shippou, we need to get going. Were are you?"

She heard a rustling in the nearby bushes and turned, expecting to see the young kitsune. What she saw made her sick.

It was an imperfect copy of Inuyasha's mother. The whole body was misshapen, with one arm longer then the other and a horribly distorted face. Behind it trailed a fox tail.

"Inuyasha", The copy cooed musically. "Inuyasha I've come back to you. Come to your mommy."

All eyes turned to the hanyou. Inuyasha shook with fury but held back, waiting to see if Kagome would keep her promise.

With a pop, the copy turned back into the kitsune. He rolled on the ground, laughing at his cruel joke.

"Wasn't that funny Kagome? I asked Myouga to tell me what Inuyasha's mom looked like, and then I used my fox magic to turn into her! HAHA He's HAHA...he's so stupid he probably thought it really was her!" Shippou wiped tears from his eyes. "HAHAHA, I thought he was going to start crying!"

"How dare you!"

Shippou stopped laughing and looked at Kagome. Was she angry? Kagome never got angry with him!

"You know how painful it is to loose a parent, how could you make fun of Inuyasha for that! How could you do something so cruel!"

"Because he knows he can get away with it. You'll sit me if I try to punish him and you yourself never will." Inuyasha answered her, bitterness creeping in to his voice.

"Maybe that's how things used to be, but no more. Shippou, look at Inuyasha. Do you notice anything different?"

The kitsune turned to the hanyou and eeped loudly when he saw that the rosary was gone.

"WHAT? How did you trick Kagome!" He turned to flee, only to have Kagome pick him up by his tail.

"Shippou, Inuyasha didn't trick me. I took them off because I know I can trust him, because he's a good person who didn't deserve to be treated that way. As for you..." She turned to Inuyasha. "Inuyasha, could you get my hairbrush for me?"

"You're going to brush his hair! What kinda punishment is that!"

"A hairbrush can be used for more then that." She told him, placing a stunned Shippou over her lap. The fox squealed as she pulled his pants down and off.

Inuyasha gave a wicked grin, understanding. He happily dug through her backpack until his hand closed around the desired implement. He handed her the hairbrush and sat down to enjoy the show. Finally the brat would get what was coming to him.

"Kagome no! You can't do this to me! It's not fair!" Shippou whined as she pinned his tail to his back.

"What's not fair is how much I've let you get away with. I had a dream last night that showed me things, like how cruel those beads really were, and what a brat you've been." She raised the hairbrush and gave him a good hard whack. Shippou yelped loudly and squirmed, but Kagome easily held him in place.

Inuyasha watched with great satisfaction as Kagome kept striking the fox's buttocks with the hairbrush long after they had turned red. She was going to make sure he never tried to hurt Inuyasha like that again.

"And if you ever do anything that mean again it'll be Inuyasha spanking you. Do you understand?" She asked the fox, still spanking as she talked.

"YES! I'LL BE GOOD!"

After a few more spanks Kagome set Shippou on his feet. "Now say you're sorry to Inuyasha."

"I'm sorry." He said quickly, only to be rewarded with an open-palm slap to his red butt.

"Like you mean it!" Kagome commanded.

"I'm sorry." Shippou told Inuyasha. Kagome nodded and ordered him to stand in time out against a nearby tree with his hands on his head.

"I'm proud of you." She told Inuyasha as she put her hairbrush back in her bag. "I could tell you wanted to beat Shippou senseless, but you didn't. Why don't you come to my time? It's the new moon tonight anyway and Momma said we'll be having steak."

Inuyasha's ears perked up at the word "steak". "Alright, I'll go tell Sango and Miroku we won't be hunting shards tonight." He jumped up into the trees and was gone in a blur.

Meanwhile, Shippou fumed. Kagome would **never** utter a cross word to him, much less spank him! Then she had made him apologize to Inuyasha, as if he had done something wrong! There was only one logical explanation. Somehow, Inuyasha had placed a spell on everyone and he was immune to it because he was a kitsune. That had to be it, why else would Kagome have taken the beads off?

In his mind the beginnings of a plan started to form.

To Be Continued.


	3. Dinner, Dreams, And The New Moon

I actually believe Shippou would do that. Think about it, he's a selfish, spoiled brat who knew there would be no consequences for anything he could possibly do. Why shouldn't he indulge every whim, no matter how cruel? To me, he's basically a Sesshomaru in training.

Dinner, Dreams, And The New Moon

Shippou was astonished. Had Inuyasha's evil spell gotten to everyone?

He told Keade of the foolish thing Kagome had done, freeing Inuyasha, but the old miko actually approved! She said that if Kagome thought Inuyasha no longer needed the beads, then she trusted her judgment. And no matter how hard Shippou tried to convince her, she wouldn't put them back on!

Shippou then told Sango and Miroku of the terrible injustice perpetrated on him, and to his shock they agreed with Kagome!

"Well it sounds to me like you got what you deserved. You know how painful it is to lose a parent and how Inuyasha feels about his mother." Miroku said.

"If it had been me you wouldn't sit down for a week." Sango added.

"It wasn't fair! I didn't do anything! It's all Inuyasha's fault!" He whined.

"Shippou, part of growing up is accepting responsibility for your own actions." Sango continued. "It's your fault if you do something bad, nobody else's. And the sooner you learn that the better."

Shippou huffed and walked away. Well fine. If nobody would help him, he would do what had to be done by himself.

**Scene Change**

"...because I know I can trust him and it was cruel to have them on for so long. I knew, when he was facing certain death time after time to protect me, that I didn't need them. But I kept them on because it made me feel powerful. I didn't have to act like an adult or face any of my own problems, I could just blame him. I was like a little kid throwing a tantrum whenever the world didn't change to suit me. But now I want to grow up, be responsible, and treat Inuyasha the way he deserves to be treated."

When Kagome finished telling her family what had happened and how she had freed Inuyasha from the rosary, reactions were mostly positive. Mrs. Higurashi told her how proud of her she was and Souta taught Inuyasha how to give a hi-five in celebration. Only Grandpa seemed a little nervous, deciding to make some wards of his own just in case.

Souta led Inuyasha to his room to try and teach him how to play video games while Kagome helped her mother make dinner. The only incident was when the sun set and Inuyasha became human. It scared Souta quite a bit, requiring a hasty explanation from Kagome.

**Scene Change**

As everyone else talked over their dinner, Kagome ate in contemplative silence. The dream had done more then show her the way she had treated Inuyasha and how he felt. It had caused her to start watching how he interacted with other people, and she finally saw the answers to things she had wondered about for a long time. Like why when her mother asked Inuyasha to do something, he did it. It was because she asked instead of commanded, and after it was done she thanked him. Or why Inuyasha seemed more at ease with and forgiving of Souta then he was of Shippou. Souta genuinely wanted to be Inuyasha's friend. He looked up to the hanyou for his strength and bravery, and Inuyasha in turn enjoyed the innocent affection and hero worship from Kagome's younger brother.

All of this new insight made her realize a few things, things that should have been obvious before her dream. For one thing, Inuyasha didn't respond well to force. If he was forced to do something it only made him resist more. Kindness, on the other hand, often worked with him. If she just asked him nicely instead of screaming or sitting him he would probably do what she wanted him to do.

Another thing she noticed, Inuyasha hated unequal treatment. He wanted to be treated like an equal, which was another reason he responded so well to her mother and brother. They treated him like a member of the family. If Kagome treated him like she did Sango or Miroku, as an equal, he responded much better to her.

Part of treating him as an equal was acknowledging that Inuyasha was a sentient being with thoughts and feelings of his own. She couldn't just issue a command and expect instant obedience from Inuyasha as if he were a dog. And she needed to remember that he wasn't from her time. She couldn't expect him to react to a given situation as a modern man would.

"Kagome?" Inuyasha said.

Kagome shook her head as she snapped out of her contemplative state. "I'm sorry, what now?"

"Tell them how you punished Shippou."

"Shippou...the little fox boy right?" Her mother asked.

"That's him." Kagome said. "This morning he played a very cruel joke on Inuyasha. He used his shape-shifting to turn into a deformed version of Inuyasha's mother and taunt him about her death."

"What a horrible thing to do!" Her mother exclaimed. "What happened?"

Kagome's gaze lowered. "I spanked him."

The kitchen fell into complete silence except for Inuyasha's chewing. "Spanked him?"

"I was just so angry that he tried to hurt Inuyasha like that. He's lost his parents too so he knows how painful it feels. I wanted to make sure he never did anything like that again. Even though I think he deserved it, I still feel bad."

Mrs. Higurashi sighed. "Kagome, you know my feelings on physical punishment, but from what you tell me in this case it was justified."

Kagome smiled. "Thanks Mamma."

After dinner was over Kagome and Souta cleared the table. Then Inuyasha approached Kagome.

"I didn't know you felt bad about punishing Shippou. If I had I wouldn't have brought it up. I'm sorry."

"It's okay." Kagome suddenly looked up. "Inuyasha, you just apologized to me."

"Well, I figured that since you've taken the beads off and decided to be nicer to me, I should treat you better too. That's why I said a lot of the things I said before, I hated being controlled so much. Now that you don't have power over me, I don't have anything to be mad about. And you stood up for me this morning. Nobody has ever taken my side before." He said.

Kagome nodded. "Lets make a deal. From now on, we'll both try hard to not say or do things we know are hurtful to each other and treat one another with respect. We should also try to be more open and tell each other how we feel. Okay Inuyasha?"

Inuyasha smiled. "Deal." He blinked as Kagome wrapped her arms around him, then relaxed.

**Scene Change**

Crying.

Kagome opened her eyes and sleepily tried to rub Shippou's back, thinking he was having a nightmare, before she remembered when and where she was. She sat up in her bed and looked for the source of the sounds, her eyes resting on the sleeping bag she used in the feudal era. She had laid it out on the floor for Inuyasha after he and her mother told her he would not be sharing her bed (Though Mrs. Higurashi trusted Inuyasha not to try anything, he was still a boy. Only when Kagome reminded her that Inuyasha often slept next to her in the feudal era did she relent and allow them to sleep in the same room). Inuyasha lay on it, curled up into a ball and whimpering softly in his sleep.

Kagome got out of bed and sat down on the sleeping bag. Reaching out a hand she started to stroke his back.

"Inuyasha," she said in a voice that was barely above a whisper. "Inuyasha wake up. You're having a nightmare."

Inuyasha opened his eyes and quickly tried to rub away his tears as he sat up. "Kagome...what is it?"

"You were crying in your sleep. What were you dreaming about?" She asked.

"Nothing. And I wasn't crying." He said and turned his head away from her so she wouldn't see fresh tears falling.

"Inuyasha, it's okay." Kagome reached around him and turned his head back towards her. "Now, what was it?"

Inuyasha's lip quivered slightly. "My mother." He offered no resistance as Kagome pressed his face gently against her shoulder. He started to speak again, occasionally interrupted by sobs.

"One day a wandering monk came to the castle where we lived. When he found out about me he told the other people that lived there that they were risking their souls by letting me live. They had always hated me and my mother and were just looking for an excuse to get rid of us. That night they broke into our room and dragged us outside. I tried to fight them, but I was too small. The monk gave a speech about how noble it was of them to cleanse the taint I represented. He told them to make sure we suffered, the half-breed and his demon's whore mother. They threw us in the river with heavy stones tied around our ankles. I got free and tried to get her free, but by the time I did it was too late. I'll always remember that blank and bloated look on her face as I buried her. It looked exactly like Shippou's copy this morning!"

Kagome rubbed his back, tears gathering in her eyes. "Inuyasha, it wasn't your fault. It was the fault of that monk and those terrible people. There was nothing you could have done." It scared her to see Inuyasha like this, in pain and so vulnerable. He had always been the strong one. But now that he needed her she wasn't going to let him down.

Inuyasha cried himself back to sleep in Kagome's arms. Then she laid him back down and zipped the sleeping bag up to his neck. She knew that in the morning he would probably deny all of it, but she would know the truth and would be there in case he needed a shoulder to cry on again.

**Scene Change**

Shippou's tail twitched as he searched through the bushes near Kaede's hut. Where could it be? He was about to try searching inside the hut again when he saw what he had been looking for; the rosary.

Shippou smiled wickedly. So Inuyasha thought he could use some kind of spell to steal Shippou's status as Kagome's favorite did he? Well, he would just see about that!

To Be Continued.

Couldn't happen you say? Well, remember that Inuyasha is more open with his feelings while in human form.


	4. Trust

Trust: A Chapter In Parts

Kagome opened her eyes, yawning. Next to her Inuyasha slept on. Apparently he had moved during the night, the zipper on the sleeping bag was down about half-way and he hung out of the open flap.

_'He looks so peaceful.'_ she thought. Usually Inuyasha slept very lightly, constantly anticipating an attack. Now he looked as if he were really resting, his ears laying peacefully against his head. Kagome couldn't help reaching out and giving them a rub. The twin appendages twitched a little in responce.

Kagome smiled a bit. The only other time she had really gotten to examine his ears was when he was still pinned to the sacred tree. Inuyasha hated having his ears touched, even though it obviously felt good.

_'Probably because people use'd to pull on them.' _she thought sadly. She felt the place where they atattched to his head and lightly rubbed the fuzzy hairs that covered them. Inuyasha groaned in his sleep and moved closer to her.

Things really were much better without the beads. Inuyasha was opening up to her, letting her see him at his most vulnerable, letting her see his real self. Without the beads, he was less high strung, more relaxed because he didn't have to spend every waking moment around her dreading being slammed into the ground. He hadn't complained when she had asked him to spend another day at home. He even went shopping with her and her mother. That night his sleep was untroubled by nightmares, but she got into the sleeping bag with him anyway.

_'You deserve to be happy and loved. You deserve to hold your head up high and have pride.'_ she thought, still stroking his ears._ 'And you will from now on, I promise.'_

She had learned that getting someone to love you wasn't like training a dog to do tricks. She had learned that you couldn't force someone to love you. Love took time. She knew it would be some time before she got a frank "I love you." from Inuyasha, and that was okay. Inuyasha showed he loved her by his actions, not his words.

**Scene change**

_'Free.'_

Inuyasha ran at top speed and jumped from building to building, much too fast for the humans below him to notice. He reveled in the glorious feeling of the wind whipping through his hair and curressing his skin. Pure freedom.

He hadn't been able to enjoy this feeling for a long time. Before, he would feel the beads around his neck when he jumped, the chaffing serving as a constant reminder that no matter how high he jumped or how fast he ran, he was not free.

How he had hated those cursed things! They reminded him, every hour of every day, that he was not free, could not do as he pleased, and was not as good as any human. Every sit from Kagome drove that message home. But more then that, they were proof that no matter how many times he saved her life, protected her, or carried her on his back, she would never trust him. It was as if every morning after he woke up she said to his face "I don't trust you. For all I know a filthy half-breed like you could murder me in my sleep. You are not my equal. You are not even worthy of the respect and dignity I give my cat."

Mabey that wasn't how Kagome had meant it to be, but it was how he had felt.

But now he knew the truth. Kagome did trust him. He wouldn't break that trust. To Inuyasha trust was a sacred thing and those who broke it were the worst kind of scum.

But he did need to get back soon. Kagome's mother would be just about done with breakfast.

_'I should do this with Kagome.'_

**Scene change**

Inuyasha helped Kagome through the well, emerging on the other side. Greetings were exchanged with Kirara, Sango and Miroku, the monk with a visible handprint on his face. Together, they walked towards the village.

"Where's Shippou?" Kagome asked, looking around for the young fox.

"Still off sulking." Sango said, keeping an eye on Miroku's cursed hand in case it started to wander.

Unbeknownst to them, Shippou was in fact plotting with the beads. His plan seemed good, and he was sure it would work. He only had to take the first step.

First, he would hide the beads in Kagome's pack. Then he would tell Inuyasha that she wanted something out of it. He would find the beads and accuse Kagome of planning to put them back on him. They would get in a fight, and then she would put them back on and sit him. Inuyasha would be back in his place, and Shippou in his as Kagome's favorite.

"Shippou?" He heard Kagome call out. He quickly hid the beads under some leaves and tried to look innoccent.

"Hi Kagome!" He exclaimed, trying to act normal.

"Hi Shippou." she said, sitting next to him. "I just wanted to appologize for spanking you like that the other day."

The kitsune's ears perked. "So you admit that I did nothing wrong and will put the beads back on Inuyasha?"

Kagome picked him up and setting him in her lap. "No. I'm not sorry I spanked you, just sorry that I used my hairbrush. What you did was cruel, just like keeping the rosary on him."

Shippou jumped up. "I knew it! He's put you all under some sort of spell and turned you against me!"

"I'm not against you Shippou. I'm finally treating you and Inuyasha fairly. It wasn't fair to Inuyasha for me to keep those beads on him when they weren't needed, and it isn't fair to you for me not to punish you when you deserve it. I have to teach you right from wrong." Kagome told him as she sat him back on her lap. "Inuyasha didn't put a spell on me or anything like that. All it was was my own conseince finally getting through to me."

"Look at me Shippou." she said when he tried to leave. "A few nights ago Inuyasha was crying in his sleep. He had a nightmare about his mother's death, thanks to that mean joke you played."

"He did, really?" Shippou couldn't imagine Inuyasha crying about anything.

Kagome continued. "Do you remember when the thunder brothers skinned your father, how scared and alone you were? Inuyasha has been like that nearly all his life."

Shippou looked down, ashamed. He hadn't thought of it like that.

"I want to be able to trust you Shippou. I want Inuyasha to be able to trust you."

Shippou nodded, then took the beads from their hiding place, handing them to her.

"Thank you Shippou." Kagome took the beads from him. She concentrated for a bit, then threw them down as they turned to dust.


End file.
